As South Boston mourns the loss of My Diner, Melrose celebrates

“We really hope we can make the Melrose community feel like family like it was in South Boston. That’s our goal.”

Jeannette Hinkle jhinkle@wickedlocal.com @JennyHinkleWL

A beloved South Boston diner has found a new home in Melrose.

My Diner, which occupied a quiet corner on A Street for 12 years, opened its doors at 399 Main Street last week.

Seated at a table in the bright new location, Monika McCain – daughter of My Diner owners Ela and Ben Bashllari – explained how My Diner grew out of a simple dream into a gathering place known for good food and familiar faces.

“My mom worked in a bank and my dad was delivering pizzas and I guess they realized, ‘we want to be our own boss and have our own hours, work for ourselves,’” she said. “The diner was the first thing that came to their mind.”

With no experience in business or cooking for a crowd, the family – originally from Albania – successfully built a dining oasis only a few blocks from the bustle of Broadway.

“They barely even knew the English language,” McCain said. “It was trial and error. But when we first closed, I believe we had 8,000 likes [on Facebook]. To know that we were such a big part of the Southie community, it’s just amazing.”

Melrosians can thank the tidal wave of gentrification enveloping Southie for the move.

The building that My Diner made into a hub for South Boston locals looking for “huge portions, great food at diner prices” went up for sale a few years ago. This June, the building was sold to developers to make way for condos.

“We kind of knew it was coming, but we didn’t find out it was closing until the week of,” McCain said. “It was devastating. If it was up to us, we would still be there.”

Though the family searched for a new location in South Boston, neighborhood complaints about parking and trash made staying in the rapidly changing borough “almost impossible,” McCain said.

“Southie wasn’t an option anymore,” she said.

When the Bashllaris learned from friend and owner of Casa Mia, which occupied the Main Street storefront before My Diner moved in, that they could make the move to Melrose, they jumped at the opportunity.

Making a new home

As South Boston mourns, Melrose celebrates.

The night before My Diner opened, McCain posted in the Melrose MA Community Group on Facebook to let Melrosians know they’d be serving breakfast the next day. As of Tuesday, her post had garnered more than 275 likes and more than 40 comments.

“It was nuts,” she said. “People are loving it. They are so, so excited. A lot of people made the commute from Southie just to come see us, but also people have told us they just moved from South Boston to Melrose. It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

A few of the South Boston location’s most frequent visitors were police officers, and McCain said the diner is looking forward to welcoming the Melrose police in for a meal.

“We were just talking to one of the Melrose cops about how many cops would come to Southie,” she said. “They loved it. Apparently one of the Melrose police officers used to eat in Southie all the time so he told the department all about it and they are all for it.”

Fast and fresh

One of the reasons so many people made My Diner home was the food, which McCain called fast and fresh.

“Basically everything is homemade,” she said.

Little has changed about the offerings at the Melrose location, but McCain said they are proud to now offer a vegan section of the menu.

“We are really adaptive to allergies or dietary needs or anything like that,” she said.

“We cook our turkey fresh every morning,” McCain said. “That’s the first thing we do when we get here, put the turkey in the oven.The turkey hash and eggs is just delicious. When the yolk goes on top of that turkey hash, it’s just so good.”

Another of McCain’s recommendations is the french toast.

“It’s so different from other places,” she said. “We use a french roll and kind of slice it the long way.”

Don’t feel like making the trip down to Main Street? My Diner delivers everything from pancakes to iced coffee, so if you’re feeling lazy on a Sunday morning give them a call.

Familiar faces

What makes My Diner such a joy to come back to, though, is the people that work there. The same staff that served up breakfast and lunch in Southie have returned to My Diner in Melrose.

Nikki Murphy said, to her, My Diner is home – she was desperate for the Bashllaris to find a new location after the South Boston location closed in June.

“It really is like family,” Murphy said. “We all love each other so much. It doesn’t feel like you’re going to work, it just feels like you’re going to hang out with your friends. I realized that once I had to get another job after working for them for eight years.”

McCain said the customers are part of that dynamic, and the staff is looking forward to building their family in Melrose.

“We’re really excited to be here,” she said. “We really hope we can make the Melrose community feel like family like it was in South Boston. That’s our goal.”